A Song for Jack
by Superpsych96
Summary: Kim Crawford, a young CEO, is whisked away in the middle of the night. Her life is hanging in the hands of Jack, a mysterious gun for hire, who will stop at nothing to keep her safe from those who would have her dead. Kim's life is entirely upside down.
1. Pilot

Kim Crawford opened the door of her Seaford Heights beach house and sighed as she tossed her keys into the bowl on her coffee table. Her head pulsed and her shoulders were so tense. Running an electronics company at age twenty was not fun. She knew it wouldn't be. After her dad's passing when she was eighteen, what was she to do? She had a board of directors and what not, but she was still the face and very hands on.

She walked to her fridge, kicking off her golden heels that went with her cloud white dress, a piece that belonged on a Greek goddess. She made it work flawlessly. Kim rummaged around for something to drink, but nothing looked inviting, so she settled for water.

The young CEO straightened, bottle in hand, and froze. The hair stood up on the back of her slender neck and she was afraid to move, to even breath. "H-hello?" Kim ventured to call out to the dark, the only light in the place coming from the moon that dimly illuminated the house through big bay windows.

"Ms. Crawford, we need to talk," a voice answered back from the shadows. It was a serious voice, but it didn't sound menacing or even unpleasant. "You're not in danger. Well, not from me. You are in serious danger, though," the voice told her.

The frightened young woman slowly turned around, not wanting to make any sudden movements. "Who are you?" Kim whispered, but she didn't know why.

"You can ask all the questions you want once we have you moving," the voice replied before stepping in front of one of Kim's many bay windows. He was a man of average height but a very healthy build. He had slicked back hair that went down to mid neck. He was dressed sharply in a three piece suit. She couldn't make out his face, though, only rough details of his silhouette, including a chiseled jawline.

"Safe? Moving? Where are you taking me?" The poor woman was petrified. Who was this suit? Why would she need to go anywhere with him?

"I promise to tell you everything, but we need to move. Now. Take one bag of the things you need most. Then we're hitting the road."

"To where?" Kim shouted, completely hysterical, but the mystery figure remained in complete control.

"To wherever you choose, Ms. Crawford, but we need to get you out of here," he half explained.

"Alright. But if you try anything…" Kim hollowly threatened. She was sure she'd do something, but nothing came to mind at that moment.

"Of course," he nodded. "Now hurry, please," he pressed urgency without being rude and still keeping deadly call.

Kim did as asked, hurrying off to grab a duffle bag from tennis and filled it with clothes, toiletries, and some pictures that she didn't want to lose. "Okay, I guess I'm ready," Kim said meekly as she entered her front room again. She was alone. "Hello?" she tried.

"Let's go," the suit said as he came back in the room. "We can come back later if you forgot anything personal, but that won't be for a while," he warned.

"Okay," Kim swallowed deeply, trying to accept the information she was just given. "Can you please tell me what's going on," she pleaded. She thought about taking the stranger's hand to add effect, but she didn't think he'd take lightly to that.

"Ms. Crawford, I'm here to, in no exaggeration, save your life."

"Someone is trying to kill me?" Kim asked breathlessly, her hand covering her silver and sapphire necklace. "What did I do? Who did I cross?" Kim couldn't believe anyone would want to hurt her. "I pay staffs well. I give benefits, holiday pay, paid sick days and vacations. I don't even outsource!" Kim was absolutely beside herself trying to figure out what she did wrong.

"I don't know what to tell you," the man stated as he held up his hand, opening the front door and peaking around before waving her on. He reached into a pocket of his black dress pants and pulled out a small device that looked like a kind of beeper. He pressed it once and returned it.

Kim nearly jumped out of her skin when a man in similar dress to the first one came from around the back of her house, a silenced pistol in hand. "We good, boss?" the curly haired underling asked.

"Of course," the leader said as they walked up to a black Jaguar. "After you, Ms. Crawford," the suave man opened the back left door and motioned for her to get in. She did as asked and he took the seat next to her. "Let's go," he ordered to the ginger in the driver's seat.

"Okay. I did everything you said. Now please, please tell me what is happening," Kim downright begged, tears threatening to escape shining brown eyes.

"Ms. Crawford," the leader began in his unsettlingly controlled tone, but Kim cut him off.

"Please, just Kim," she said before setting her shaking hand back down on her lap.

"Kim, someone paid to have you killed. Someone else knew that and hired us to stop you from being killed," he explained.

"So you're the good guys?" she asked, feeling instant relief, but only to a degree. The man smiled, and she was shocked. He did know how to emote!

"Where to, Kim?" the ginger young man behind the wheel asked, currently stopped at a two-way turn.

"Uh… uh… I don't know. I still have no idea what's going on, let alone know where to go," Kim shamelessly admitted. What else was she to do?

"Do you want to stay in California, or go to a different state?" the front man asked.

Kim could finally see his face. Intense hazel eyes that were closer to brown. He had a strong jaw and chin with matching cheekbones, a matching set of little moles, too. The man was handsome, Kim had to admit. He had a very commanding presence that couldn't be ignored, as well.

The discombobulated girl snapped back to the present. "Out of state? You guys do that?"

"If we have to," the curly haired one shrugged. "I don't really care."

"Would you like me to just choose?" the smallest man in the car, the redhead, asked.

"That would actually be nice. I can't really think at the moment," Kim had to accept. Kim's adrenaline from the whole situation was starting to wear off, and general exhaustion set in. Her eyelids were at a record weight, it seemed.

The shot caller noticed Kim's rather haggard look. "It's okay, Kim. You should sleep. You're safe right now," he told her in a softer, almost sympathetic voice.

Kim believed him and decided he was right. There was nothing she could do now, so she rested her head against the cool glass window and drifted to sleep.

"What's the plan, Jack?" Kim recognized the voice to be the little redhead's. "We got Kimberly Crawford out and unharmed. We beat out the Death Squad by minutes. That's as far as the job said. Now it's up to her. That's the contract."

"Little cold, dude." That was the curly haired man. "They'll kill her for sure." That's not what she wanted to hear.

"I know, Jerry. Milton, I know it's the end of the contract, but come on," the leader, Jack, was seemingly trying to find Milton's compassion.

"Alright, but I better get paid for my time," Milton the ginger gave in. "So where are we actually bringing her?"

"Washington. I have a place in Washington State," Jack answered. "We can hang there until we get something worked out."

"Alright. To the Brewer family farm it is," Milton agreed.

"It's not the Brewer family farm. You can't have a family farm if there's only one left," Jack scoffed, but the woman pretending to be sleeping didn't find it funny. Would she need to know Jack's backstory? Would they be acquaintances long enough for it to matter? Did she want to know?

"That's totally Debby Downing, dude," Jerry said from the front passenger seat. "Can we put in some tunes or something?" the man asked hopefully.

"Softly," Jack allowed.

"We don't want to wake the Queen," Milton snidely remarked.

"Man, I told you it'll be worth your time," Jack said back defensively. "I feel this is something we need to do."

"Feeling some bad karma from the last job?" Milton asked, but he sounded like he meant it.

"Yeah, maybe. I hate when we lose," Jack mumbled, his dark mood seemingly back into place.

"Think we'll lose this one?" Jerry asked as Sam and Dave's Hold On, I'm Coming came on quietly.

"No," Jack said. "I don't lose twice in a row."

Sunlight coming through the car window woke up Kim for the second time, but she figured it was best to actually wake up.

"Hey! Look at that!" Jerry said, oddly enthusiastic. "Kim's up, guys!"

"Morning to you, too," Kim said with a light smile as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Where are we?"

"At a gas station," Jerry answered without thought or pause.

"She can see that, you boob!" Milton snipped at the friendly idiot. Kim had to try not to laugh. "We're just at the northern tip of California. We'll be in Oregon in an hour or so." Kim was grateful for the real answer.

"Where are we going?" Kim played dumb. She knew exactly where they were going. Well, kind of.

"We're going to Washington State," Milton said. "It's the best place for you until Jack can sort things out. I don't think he knows what to do yet."

"Jack?" Kim played dumb again.

"Jack's the leader of our team. He's the dude that was in your house to get you last night," Jerry explained. "He calls all the shots and stuff."

"Ah," Kim nodded in understanding. "Where did he go?" she asked out of sheer curiosity.

"He went inside to pay up," Milton answered. Milton's indifference was palpable to Kim. After having eavesdropped, she understood it a little more. It was business, nothing to take personally.

Kim opened the door just a crack before Jerry reached back and shut it. "Yo, what are you doing?" Jerry asked like he had been struck.

"Going into the gas station?" Kim asked with a raised brow. "Am I not allowed to?"

"Jerry, go with her," Milton flicked his head and the taller man nodded. "Bring me something back? Just a coffee?"

"Of course," Kim smiled, happy for a chance to get Milton points.

"Oh, you don't have to. I was hoping Jerry,"

"No, really. It's no problem," Kim cut him off and smiled before she got out of the car. Jerry scrambled to get out and went straight to her side.

"Is this close of surveillance really necessary?" Kim mumbled as they neared the station's entrance.

"Yup," Jerry answered, popping the 'p' at the end of the word. Kim just rolled her eyes.

As soon as they entered the building, Jerry grabbed Kim's shoulder and pushed her down to the floor. "Stay here!" Jerry ordered as he removed his silenced Colt 1911.

Kim's eyes popped wide when she heard the signature 'thwip' of a bullet shot from a silencer. She had no idea where anybody was, so she stayed put like Jerry had told her. Moments later, she heard grunting and the racket of a shelf falling over. More likely, it was knocked over.

A hand grabbed Kim's shoulder from behind and pulled her up. She nearly died from fright, but Jack's voice told her, "Move. Now!" His strong hand pushed her forward as he discharged his weapon three more times, Jerry right behind him. Kim still hadn't seen who was shooting at them.

Milton brought the high performance vehicle to life when he saw how fast the three were hauling ass back. "Everyone okay?" Milton asked as the car's passengers reloaded into the seats.

"Peachy. Just drive," Jack snapped as he rolled down the window and stuck out half of his torso, his gun still in hand. After a moment, he pulled himself back into the vehicle and exhaled deeply, satisfied they weren't followed.

"What the hell was that?" Kim shrieked, her adrenaline pumping and her nerves absolutely fried.

"That, or they, is why we had to grab you last night. Those were Black Dragon Assassins, the baddest the underworld has to offer," Jack explained. "They weren't the Death Squad, though. I think those guys were just tracking us and we happened to bump into each other."

"How long have they been after us?" Kim asked, trying to get grounded.

"Probably since they went to snuff you out and found out we got you first," Jerry told her without reservation.

Kim was speechless. What was she supposed to say to the information she just received. Grade A assassins were after her! The only thing keeping her alive were these three strangers she knew next to nothing about. Two days ago she was the CEO of a Forbes Fortune 500 company. Now she was on the road to Washington State to a farm in the middle of nowhere. The other option was getting a bullet to the back of her head execution style. This was not the start to the weekend she expected.

"Milton, can you pull into this rest stop?" Jack asked his long-time friend. "I think it'd be best if we all got out and stretched our legs a bit, yeah?"

"Sure. Let's do that," Milton agreed with no emotion whatsoever. He slowed down and inched into the turn before bringing the high performance vehicle to a stop. "There aren't assassins after us or anything."

"We're going to have to have a talk later, Milton," Jack whispered in the driver's ear from the back seat before the car's occupants all got out. "Kim, a minute?"

"Uh, yeah. What's up?" the nervous young woman asked the man that seemingly held her fate in his hands.

The two walked some distance from Jerry and Milton before Jack began. "Kim, I don't want want to sugar coat things. That's not my style. Mind if I smoke?" Jack asked. It seemed sincere, like she could actually say no.

"We're outside, so go ahead." Kim made it subtly clear that she wasn't a fan of being in a closed space with what she considered a nasty habit.

"Thanks," Jack said as he reached into his black jacket's pocket to remove a silver cigarette case. "I'm guessing you don't?" he asked as he pulled one out. It didn't look store bought.

"Oh god no," Kim laughed. "I think it's a nasty habit, but you do you," she said with a friendly smile. She really didn't know Jack that well. Or at all, really. All she knew is that he was a dangerous man with at least two dangerous friends.

"That's fair," Jack nodded. "Anyway," he said as he lit his smoke, "your life just got a lot more complicated. It's not over, but it's different for the foreseeable future."

"What do you mean it's not over?" Kim asked with a chuckle. "There are people trying to kill me. I'm on the road to Washington with three men I don't know."

"This is all true," Jack confirmed. "But you aren't dead, right? Follow my lead and do what we tell you, and you can keep not being dead."

"So far this doesn't sound bad."

"I'm not done, though," Jack said, holding up his hand. His knuckles were cut a little and kinda swollen, Kim observed. He had been in some kind of scuffle not long ago. "We weren't even supposed to come this far with you."

"I know, Jack," she said softly. "I overheard you guys talking last night," she admitted. "You guys are going beyond. Why are you putting so much into helping me?"

Jack paused and took a long draw from his cigarette, his other hand in his dress pants pocket. "Me and the guys run a business, Kim. It's pretty simple. But what's not simple is the hit ordered on you. Their job doesn't end until you're dead, they are, or we kill who called the hit," Jack explained.

"So even though you're job is done, it's… it's not done?" Kim was completely confused and even though she'd never admit it, pretty damn scared.

"That's where things on my end are confusing," Jack said, keeping straight eye contact. "Officially, our contract is over. Morally, we have a lot of work to do."

"I can… I can pay you," Kim told him, her voice almost pleading. "Please? I can afford it. I can give you guys more than your normal rate."

"You need help. And we're going to help you," Jack told her as he put out the last little bit of his smoke. "It's going to take time, and it's going to be incredibly dangerous for the four of us, but it's what we do."

"What do I… what do we do?" Kim was still trying to grasp her upturned world.

"We're going to spend some time off the grid until we can work some things out. You can return to your usual life, but until things are back to normal, we'll be part of your normal. If you want to stay alive, that is."

"Thank you, Jack," Kim said with the biggest smile, a tear of joy and relief slipping down her cheek. She wanted to give him a big bear hug, but one look at the sharp dressed, literal killer, told her he wouldn't be too comfortable with that.


	2. This is How We Work

"Food. Thoughts, anybody?" Jack asked from behind the wheel. "I'm not in any specific mood so don't even ask me for what I want."

"Mexican?" Jerry offered, always happy to indulge in his heritage.

"Italian?" Milton countered. After Milton's vote, an awkward silence filled the car.

Kim began wringing her hands, not entirely sure why the air had gotten so thick around her. Her brown eyes flitted around the vehicle from Milton to Jerry, and she realized she was supposed to vote as well. "Uh… Italian sounds fine," she flashed a smile and went back to staring mindlessly out the window.

"Yo Kim, everything alright over there?" Jerry asked, watching her carefully.

"Everything is fine. And thank you for asking," Kim replied flatly. Everything was not, in fact, fine. She was going on a long ass road trip with three strangers armed to the teeth. Jack had subtly told her that people may die around her. Would people die in her name or for her name? The latter was her preferred choice because she didn't ask for it. "I'm just hungry," she said, turning to him with a little pout. She didn't lie.

"Rigatoni, here I come," Jack said with a smirk and added a feather's weight to the gas pedal, just enough to get the passengers laughing.

XxX

Jack pulled the Jag into a spot in the nearly vacant parking lot, nothing other than a Jeep and a large, grey van.

"Kim, stay here," Jack ordered as he and the boys hopped out, heading straight for the Bruno's Electric van.

Kim watched nervously as the three well dressed men walked purposefully to the vehicle that seemed docile enough. Her breathing stopped and her heart pounded as Jerry opened the back door, Milton's and Jack's guns already drawn and raised. A moment passed and Jerry closed the door. Jack and Milton returned their guns to their holsters.

"We're all good. Let's go eat," Jack said with a winning smile after having opened Kim's door for her.

"What was that all about?" Kim asked, still flustered.

"Making sure the area's safe," Jack said factorily.

"Do you know how easily you could be stuffed in the back of that van, dead or alive?" Jerry asked with a chuckle. "We just had to make sure it wasn't a van waiting for that."

"What's Milton doing?" Kim tried to ignore Jerry's blunt details.

"He's putting a small tracker on the underside of the bumper," Jack shrugged. "He'll get it on the way out." With that, Jack led them into the quaint little hole in the wall. None of them had ever been there, but Jack always thought these little places were the special ones.

As Kim stepped in, the smell of spices, meats, sauces, and cheeses came to meet her and wrap her tired senses in an aromatic sanctuary.

"Booth?" Jack asked the hostess before she could speak. "It'll just be us four," he continued.

"Alrighty," the hostess responded, seemingly put off by Jack's take-charge attitude, even in such a simple situation. "Is a window fine?"

"Nope," Jerry answered with a chuckle.

"Something near the back would be preferable," Milton added in. Kim just stood back and watched, letting them handle things their way. They really were like commando bodyguards.

"Right this way," she said with an awkward smile. "Anything to drink besides water?" she continued as soon as they had been seated.

"Just coffee, thanks," Jack replied with a quick, curt smile.

"Make that two," Jerry chimed in.

"Three, actually," Milton corrected.

"Just hot tea for me, thanks," Kim said with the group's first polite and earnest smile. I'm gonna have to tip this girl so well, Kim thought to herself.

"I'll be right back with those and some menus," the poor girl said and took off before the odd gentlemen could do or say anything else.

Kim slumped into her seat and rested her chin in one hand, her other arm lying lifelessly on the table.

"Yo, everything alright, chica?" Jerry asked, lightly tapping her hand with one finger.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Kim said nonchalantly, waving him off with her dead arm.

"Milt, order the sausage rigatoni for me, yeah?" Jack asked rhetorically, to which Milton simply nodded. "Kim?" Jack asked as if she should know without seeing the menu.

"Uhh…" Kim hesitated. "Pasta primavera?" she answered with no authority.

"If it's not on there, I'll get you a the closest thing," Milton said plainly.

"Great. Now that's settled, let's go out for a smoke," Jack ordered, tapping the confused girl's arm.

"But I don't,"

"I know you don't smoke," Jack said pulling her out of the booth. He took her hand as they crossed through the quiet hole in the wall and went outside, around to the back.

"What's going on, Jack?" Kim asked, hoping she could somehow keep the ball over in his court. She didn't know what was in his court, or if Jack even had a court. She just knew she felt defensive, but she couldn't even tell herself why.

Jack pulled out his silver cigarette case and selected a cancer stick. "Fuck if I know," he shrugged as he placed the filter end between his lips. "You tell me. What's with the aloofness?"

As he took the first few puffs and the smoke felt from his nostrils, the scent struck Kim and it wasn't unpleasant. "What's in those?" she asked, pointing to the cig.

"Special blend of fine cut pipe tobacco. Jerry's illegal immigrant dad makes them," Jack explained. "Burns cooler, tastes better, doesn't smell like burning ass and is way cleaner than anything you'll find in a Marb's factory. It's still in there, but there's way less cancer."

"Why did you mention that he's an illegal?" Kim asked, happy she was still holding off any real conversation.

"Because he's an employee of yours, that's why. And because we don't hold secrets. These damn teenage white girls keep saying "ride or die" but they don't know what that means. A withheld secret could mean one of us dies, if it's that kind of secret," Jack explained. "So if you dodge me one more time, I will drop your little ass off at home and we all go home. Do you understand me?" Jack almost growled, pointing his cigarette at her.

"I understand," she parrotted back quietly, swallowing hard.

"Great. Now I'll ask you again: what's. wrong."

Kim sighed and chewed her lips, trying to remember what words were. "I can't go out and eat anymore without a team of thugs checking vehicles to make sure I don't get kidnapped." Jack raised a brow at being called a thug, but Kim went on. "I have bodyguards that are closer to the Swiss Guard or the British… whatever you call them. The dudes with the tall, black, fuzzy hats. I'm traveling with murderous robots!" she finally finished, her hands on top of her braided hair.

"Murderous robots?" Jack repeated with a scoff. "The only people we're going to harm are the people trying to put a bullet in that pretty blonde fucking head of yours!" Jack barked, pushing against her forehead with a finger hard enough to make her take a step back. "Everything we're doing right now is to keep you six feet above ground, yeah?"

"But do you have to be so rude to poor people like that waitress?" Kim thought that was important enough to bring up.

"I'm sorry if our lives of constantly being shot at and chased makes us a little rough around the edges, your majesty," Jack mocked with a deep, sweeping bow.

"Yeah, I get that, but…"

"No, you don't get that. Not yet, but if the three of us do our jobs right, you will." Jack kept eye contact with the young woman as he lifted up his shoe to snuff out the little bit of cigarette that remained. "Is there anything else?" It sounded legitimate enough to Kim. She felt berated after the conversation, but felt like maybe she had found a chink in Jack's armor and he had to protect that weak spot.

"One more thing…" she timidly ventured.

"Yeah?" Jack asked, his hand now in the pockets of his black slacks.

"Do I have anything to fear? From the people after me, or from…" she didn't know how to say it.

"From me?" Jack filled in for her and she gave him a tiny nod, a hot wright in her stomach from the anxiety of what the answer might be. "As long as you listen to us and stay close, you shouldn't have to worry about them. That's our job. As for from me… it's my job to protect you."

Kim let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. For some reason, with just those words and the look in his eyes, she knew he meant it. It was all she needed.

Jack continued anyway. "While we're having this little heart to heart, I'm going to continue being up front. There are going to be times when I feel like I am your overpaid babysitter. There will be times when you'll probably annoy the unholy shit out of me, but I'll know it's not your fault, and that you didn't ask for any of this. Until this is over, I will protect you," Jack swore.

Kim found herself sniffling a little and wiping away a stray tear. "Why, Jack? Why do you care so much?" She had to know

"Because you're innocent, Kim," Jack said like it was obvious. "I've watched a lot of people die, Kim. I'm not going to pretend like I'm a good person, either. I've killed a few myself. But those people asked for it. They lived and died by the sword. You don't live by it, so there's no reason you should die by it because some ass in a suite wants you snuffed for whatever reason."

"I really want to hug you. Is that okay?" Kim asked, the lightest little smile on her lips.

"No. No it isn't," Jack replied, crossing his arms. "We're getting too touchy-feely."

"Oh, okay…" Kim said, her head down and her eyes looking at Jack's polished black leather shoes. She felt dejected, but not cripplingly so after Jack's monologue. He wasn't as terrible as a lot of the men in his world, but he was nothing like a teddy bear, either.

"Let's head back inside. The guys probably think something happened," he suggested.

"Yeah, probably a good idea," she said with a forced laugh, her face no dry of tears.

"You okay now?" Jack checked as they headed back towards the entrance.

"Yeah, I think so," Kim said with a real smile.

"Good," Jack replied with his usual straight face. "Whenever you're not, though, come talk to me. I'm no therapist, but it's better than having you scream at a mirror."

xXx

"Does anybody… oh! You all finished everything! I don't even need to ask if you need any boxes.

"No, everything was great. I was a little ashamed that I ate it all, but I just couldn't stop!" Kim joked back with the waitress.

"So is the check separate or all on one?"

"Sep," Jack began, but Kim cut him off.

"All on one," she smiled.

"Alright, I'll be right back with the bill," she smiled at the table and took off.

"You don't have to pay for us, Kim," Jack told her as if the bill would feel like more than pennies to her.

"I can afford it, Jack, trust me," she replied with a proud smile.

"I know. But still, you don't have to."

"Yeah, Kim. That's mad nice of you," Jerry added in like he couldn't afford it. Their line of work paid a lot more than peanuts.

"I appreciate what you guys are doing for me. Picking up the bill is literally the least I can do."

Jack tilted his head and his quirked up in the tiniest of smiles. Jack's job was usually pretty thankless, so he probably didn't see that coming.

Kim smiled back, but a real beam of light. Their conversation outside had hit home with her. These three men were all putting themselves in harm's way just for her. Just because she never asked to be brought into the shadows. Jack told her he wasn't a good man, but on that, she had to disagree.

XxX

"Let's stop here for the night?" Jack asked from the back seat, Jerry behind the wheel.

"Yeah, this works for me," Kim said, not feeling like arguing. This wasn't her idea of a hotel, but it was more of a bed than a car was. It wasn't a Hilton, but she wouldn't complain about a Day's Inn.

The four parked in the relatively empty lot and vacated the Jag's trunk of their various gears and luggage. Kim's single bag was a lot less than she was used to traveling with.

The four reached the front desk and momentarily set down their belongings.

"Two rooms, please? Preferably next to each other." Jack was doing all the talking, as was his way as group leader.

"I can do that. First or second floor?" the attendant asked.

"First?" Kim spoke up, hoping for some kind of say in what was now her life. Jack turned to her briefly, but not in opposition. He almost looked proud of her. Was he pleased that she was learning how to be one of them without trying to be Queen Bitch?

"The four of us need keys for both rooms," Milton added. "If there's a fee for whatever reason, we'll pay it."

"No, there's no fee. There's some stuff for you to sign, and I need to see the ID of whoever's names the rooms are under."

They all looked back and forth at each other, trying to decide whose name would be best to put in the system. Or really any system for that matter. Kim reached into her clutch and retrieved her wallet.

"Jack, is that a good idea?" Milton whispered into the boss's ear.

"We have no reason to believe they're following her actions at this level. She's also the only one of us who won't come on to any kind of radar or scanner, nationally speaking," Jack thought aloud.

"Kimberly Crawford? Like, Crawtec Industries Kim Crawford?" the desk man asked.

"Hi," Kim said with a shy smile. She was used to this, but not in front of people with firearms. Kim's ID and card ran with no issues. She signed the paper and was about ready to go with the guys when the vested young man behind the counter stopped her.

"Uh, Ms. Crawford? I really shouldn't ask, because it's unprofessional and all, but is there any chance we can, you know, take a selfie together?" The dude was about to chew through his lip.

"Let me ask my security staff," she said quickly and turned to Jack. Their cover was easy enough to pull off.

Jack looked the college kid over from head to toe. He bore into his eyes with a glare that could devour souls. "That should be okay. Mr. Krupnik, will you take the picture?" Jack asked his tech associate.

"I don't see why not," Milton responded with an eye roll. Taking pictures of college kids posing wasn't exactly in his five year plan. He was a college age kid, too, but he didn't feel that young.

Kim put her arm around the taller young man's shoulder and gave a winning smile as Milton steadied the desk guy's phone the picture. He smiled, too, but his eyes gave away how nervous he was to be taking this picture with a tech mogul and model.

Milton snapped two pictures and handed the phone back to him. "Wait three days before you share this picture with friends, family, or social media. We have nets out for her safety. If we find that you have posted this on social media before the three days are up, our friend, Jerry here, will be back.

Jerry looked 'Bryan' dead in the eyes and gave a wolfish smile as he cracked his knuckles and then his neck. "I'd love to come visit you, man."

"Tha… that won't be necessary, I promise," Bryan stuttered as the four walked away.

"I know that's not your style, Princess, but it's moves like that that keep you safe," Milton explained.

"I know," Kim said. "I'm just glad you let him take the picture without snapping the dude's neck," Kim laughed.

"I thought about it," Jack shrugged. Kim whipped her head in his direction so fast she nearly got whiplash. Her brown eyes almost popped out of their sockets and her jaw nearly broke through the floor.

"That was a joke, Kim. Relax, will ya?"

"I can't tell with you yet."

"These are our rooms," Milton said, easing the tension further. "Jerry, pool after we're settled?"

"Dude, you know it," Jerry agreed. "Alright, so me and Milt, you and Chicah?" Jerry guessed at the arrangements.

"Unless there's any complaints," Jack left room for negotiation.

"You're the boss. You and Princess sharing the room just makes sense," Milton concurred. "Jerry can have the bed and I'll crash on the couch."

"Works for me," Jerry shrugged and headed into his room, Milton close behind.

"So me and you get to be roomies?" Kim asked, trying to keep things light.

"It would appear so," Jack said with all the indifference in the world.

This is going to be the most fun ever, Kim thought to herself. "So…"

"No, I don't want to go to the pool, too," Jack cut her off. "By all means, feel free to head down yourself, though," he offered.

"I was going to ask if you were going to the pool or staying in the room because I don't have a bathing suit. Grabbing a bikini was the last thought in my head when I was fleeing for my life. And besides, I wouldn't go to the pool to have fun while you sit alone in here and stew," she finished in a softer tone than the huff she had started out with.

"Thanks for the concern, really, but I have no problem with 'alone.' And I wouldn't be stewing. Contrary to popular belief, I don't have anything against a show or a good movie." That was more insight to Jack than she had expected. It wasn't much, but it was something.

"Is it okay if I stay here, then, or do you want me to let you be alone?" Kim offered sincerely.

"You're not hurting anything," Jack shrugged as he flopped down on one of the beds. Luckily for them, the room was set with two twins separated by a nightstand instead of just one queen. "Mind if I suit down a little?"

"Make yourself at home," Kim told him as she dug into her bag and pulled out a little hand-held game her company had yet to put out.

"What is that?" Jack asked as he took off his red vest and started unbuttoning his black shirt.

"It's the Crawplay II," Kim said with a smile as she fired up the little device. "It's still in testing, but as the CEO, I get one." She flashed the goofiest, biggest shit grin Jack had seen on her face yet. He even had to suppress a laugh.

"I never took you for a gamer," Jack said cooly.

"Because I'm wearing a blue skirt?" Kim asked with an eyebrow raised. "Don't be so quick to judge, Jack."

Kim was starting to think that this evening would pass without too much pain.


	3. Bullets and a Birthday

Kim woke up and looked at the red digital numbers of the alarm clock that sat on the little wood nightstand. She blinked a few times before she fully understood what she was looking at. 12:00, said the clock.

She rolled over and looked out the window to see daylight bathing everything in warmth and clarity. Oh no, I slept in till noon! Jack is going to kill me! Kim thought to herself.

"Morning, sunshine," Jack said calmly from his bed. "Sleep well?" He was just lying there, staring up at the ceiling and playing with a vice grip.

Is he some kind of psycho? she pondered. A hot, sharp dressing psycho? Jack, in his black slacks and white tank top that Kim figured he wore under his button up shirts wasn't a bad site to wake up to. "I did sleep well," she said honestly. "I felt safe." Another truth.

"Good," Jack said with no change in his eyes, no hint of smile or smirk. "We ready to move soon?" he asked, still staring at the ceiling.

"Yeah, definitely," Kim told him, afraid to say no even if she wasn't. "Why did you let me sleep in so late?"

"Got somewhere to be in a hurry?" he asked her sarcastically, finally turning and making eye contact.

"No, not at all. I just thought you'd have woken my ass up and rolled me out at some ungodly hour of the night," Kim told Jack with a chuckle.

"We're on your dollar now. That means we go on your schedule. We set the destination, sure, but when we get there depends on when you feel like getting your princess ass out of bed."

"Why do you guys keep calling me princess," Kim said in annoyance.

"Because we do gunfights like you do staff meetings. We hit the road like you hit the skies. We sleep in Best Westerns like you sleep in Hilton's, if we do don't just take turns driving and going straight through. Get it?" Jack asked rhetorically, an eyebrow raised and a look in his eyes begging her to argue.

"I'm one-ply. Got it," Kim said dejectedly, her head low. "Can we just get going?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Jack said and rolled out of bed.

XxX

The four met back in the lobby and waited in a short line to check out.

"Jack, two dudes over by that potted tree are watching Kim, yo," Jerry informed his leader with a whisper.

"They might just be checking her out, Jerry," Jack tried to calm his comrade. "They're about our age, and so is Kim." Jack spared them a quick glance. "Yeah, they're just checking her out."

"I can hear you two!" Kim snipped. "Can you make them stop, though? Please? I can feel their eyes on my butt," she said with a pout.

"Yeah, no problem," Jack said with a smile and stepped away from the crew. He walked towards the two young men instead, his hands in his dress pants pockets. "Morning, fellas."

"Morning," one said and watched anything but Jack. "Can I help you?" he asked when Jack didn't move.

"The blonde at the counter. Think she's pretty hot, yeah? You like the way her skirt hugs her ass and shows off her calves?" The two looked at each other and back at Jack, completely unsure of what his game was. "Seriously. You guys wanna see more? You wanna see stars?" Without any warning, he grabbed the top of each boy's heads and slammed them together, forehead off forehead. "There. Look at that for a while."

Jerry was laughing hysterically at the exact kind of scene he had expected. Kim had definitely expected a confrontation, but she didn't see that coming. She should have foreseen that. Lesson learned, though.

Milton had them already signed out, so they took off before anyone could even talk to Jack about his cowboying. Someone was probably going to have fun with the surveillance footage.

XxX

"That car behind us. He's been following us for the last three hours," Milton vocalized his observation.

Jack looked behind them and pulled out his 1911 and screwed the silencer on. "Pull over." Milton did as told. They all watched as the Toyota slowed down and pulled over yards behind them. The driver got out and pretended to check the tires and the underside of the vehicle like there was an issue. "Yeah, they're following us," Jack concurred.

Jack tugged the gun in his deep pockets and got out of the Jag. He walked over to the tail and began talking to the fellow.

"What's he doing?" Kim asked, nearly snapping at the spine as she watched.

"You might not want to watch this, Princess," Milton told her and kept his eyes on the road.

Kim ignored the warning. She steeled herself and refused to look away. She watched as Jack pulled his gun and smoked the first man execution style. The one still in the car made a move for his gun but Jack was already there, and put two bullets in him. Jack ran a hand through his hair and returned his weapon to it's holster under his arm.

Traffic around the car stopped dead. The ones at the front had just watched two murders on the highway. The only thing elegant about it was how quick it was and where Jack put the rounds.

Jack tot back to the car and took his seat. "Cops will be here soon. Let's burn rubber." He was completely cold. No emotion. Jack was stone.

"Did you just…"

"Yeah," Jack confirmed before Kim could finish.

"We're not going to talk about it?"

"About what?"

"Oh I don't know. Maybe you fucking smoking two people in the freeway!" Kim shouts, blown away by Jack's audacity to play dumb about something like that.

Jack turned on her, getting right in her face. "Yeah. We're not going to talk about it because we already did. Did you think I was playing when I told you people might die? I'm not going to apologise. I'm not going to stop doing my job because you're some naive little girl who doesn't understand that if you want to live, you need to kill the people that want to stop you from doing that."

"Jack, man…"

"No. Shut the fuck up, Jerry. I just killed for you. You saw that, yeah?" Jack asked rhetorically, his eyes wide and dark with a craziness behind every cell. "It's going to happen again. And again. It's probably going to happen to someone you know. Someone who you thought cared about you and that you cared about. That's usually how these jobs end."

Kim sat there helplessly, stuck in Jack's eyes, his voice running through her ears and sticking in her memory like hot tar. She was speechless, but Jack looked like he was waiting for her to speak, to say something. "You're right," she said and swallowed heavily.

"Yeah," Jack said while nodding. "Yeah. But look at you now. That's one more thing you just learned today, yeah?"

"Yeah. There's always going to be jackals. Surround yourself with lions," Kim said with a steely resolve. "I watched you kill two men. I also saw one of them reach for a gun when he knew what was happening. They were following us. Follow plus gun equals murder attempt on Kimmy," she summed up.

"Smart girl," Milton added from the back seat. "What do you think of us now?"

"That you can teach me a lot. I think you guys know what it takes to survive and how to do it."

"All true," Jerry agreed from the front seat.

"And I think you guys need to teach me how to," Kim said. They would have laughed if she hadn't sounded so serious. "You guys won't always be here for me, so I need to always be here for me."

"That's fucking right," Jack nodded.

XxX

"Kim, wake up," Milton said as he woke up the girl that fidgeted in her sleep. "We're here."

Kim slowly awoke and tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. "We're where?" she asked. A hotel? A place to eat? she wondered to herself.

"The farm," Milton specified. He got out of the car and stretched as wide as he could. He was flexible, though he didn't look it.

Kim warily got out and looked around. She immediately loved it. There were three houses on the top of a small hill that overlooked an amount of acres Kim could not begin to guess. She saw a lot of dairy cows and chickens, a few horses and pigs.

The biggest building was a massive, classic red barn that was in the center of a bracket of smaller outbuildings and animal housings. The farm, to Kim's eye, varied from impressive to cute. It was very picturesque. She never expected it to be among Jack's list of assets.

"It's beautiful, Jack," Kim gushed. When she got no reply, she turned around to see that he was already at the foot of the steps.

"It's alright," Jack shrugged and headed into the middle and biggest of the three houses.

XxX

Jack stumbled out of the house with tumbler in hand, and patted his pants to try to find his smokes.

"Evening," Kim said without turning around. "The stars out here are so gorgeous. You never see them like this in the city," she marvelled as her eyes tried to see every one of the millions of stars above her.

"What are you doing out here? It's late," Jack asked as he took another sip from his glass.

"Just… looking," she said quietly, turning around and looking at him. "Join me?" she asked and patted the stoop.

Jack exhaled slowly and waddled across the porch and sat where Kim had directed.

"What are you drinking?" Kim asked.

"Whiskey and Coke," he said and took another sip. "Want one? I don't care if you're not twenty-one. A girl with people trying to kill her should have a drink," Jack declared and stood up without waiting for an answer.

"I am twenty-one. It's my birthday," Kim whispered to herself. I can't dwell on it. I need to be strong. Now isn't the time for a girl's pity party.

"What?" Jack asked, stopping just past the doorway but not turning around.

"I said that sounds great," she lied. He doesn't care.

Jack was back in no time with a second glass and his refilled. "Here," he said and unceremoniously handed it off to his new, just legal drinking buddy. "Cheers to beating death to the punch." They toasted. Kim sipped and Jack took a full mouthful.

"Oh my God! This is so strong!" Kim said with a scrunched face and looked at the cup like it had actively tried to assault her.

Jack laughed aloud; a deep, rolling laugh Kim didn't expect to hear. "I suppose it is. I like it that way," he shrugged.

"You shrug a lot," Kim voiced her observation. Jack just stared at her. "Just saying."

"What else have you noticed about me?" Jack inquired and leaned back against one of the pillars that supported the porch of the farm house.

"You provide for the people you care about," she began. "Jerry and Milton are here. Your farm hands live in the other house. But you live alone. You care about these people, but you don't really let them in."

"You see too much, Princess," Jack scoffed.

"being able to read people and size them up is super important in my life. It can make a business meeting, or break one if they're better at getting into my head," Kim explained.

"Makes sense. Think I'm in your head yet?" Jack asked with a raised brow.

"I don't know. Are you?" Kim challenged, turning her attention to Jack and away from the starry sky.

"You're scared. You don't like anything being beyond your control. You're fiercely independent so this whole thing is killing you because you have to rely on us. How's that?" Jack asked. The look on his face told Kim that he was damned sure of himself.

"Right on all counts," Kim admitted with a low hung head. "I really do hate it. I hate anything that makes me feel like a kid."

"Hey," Jack tried to get her attention. It didn't work, so he hooked his finger under her chin and turned her head to look at him. "This won't last forever. We'll teach you what it takes to survive. We'll cancel the contract by killing the caller. It'll take time, but you'll be free again. I promise you that."

Kim sat there on the stoop and stared at the cool, green grass of the expansive front yard. "I just want to go home," Kim mumbled under her breath. She figured Jack must have heard it, because in an out of character move, he took her hand.

"I know. I don't take any joy in your situation, Kim. I know I come off as cold and indifferent,but that's how I've survived this long," Jack explained.

"I'm from a different kind of jungle. One I can't stay out of for too long. I can't stay holed up here, Jack. I have an empire to run," Kim said without trying to sound argumentative.

"You're so young. How did you end up with the company?" Kim was surprised to have Jack asking her personal questions.

"My dad died unexpectedly. He didn't have anyone else to run it with the Crawford name. It's really that simple."

"What about a mom?" Jack asked. Kim was left speechless. She thought about her mom often but never really talked about her. She hadn't talked about her mom in years.

"I see that look," Jack said, pointing right at her. "You need another drink. Then we'll talk. He got up and excused himself to the kitchen where he kept the drinks.

What's with Jack? Does he just open up and show his real human side when he drinks? How deep into a bottle is he? How much am I going to have? These were the thoughts going through the young mogul's head until Jack came back.

"Here you are milady," Jack said and handed her the refilled glass with a bit of a flourish this time.

"Ah," Kim smiled and happily accepted. "Happy birthday to me."

"Oh, come on!" Jack laughed. "If it was your birthday I'd have to do better than this," he motioned towards the cup.

"It is my birthday," Kim told him with a straight face.

"Well what would the birthday Princess like for her special gift?" Jack asked, but Kim saw in his eyes that behind the booze, he meant it.

"How drunk are you?" Kim had to ask.

"Pretty damn. Why?"

"So you won't remember tonight tomorrow?"

"Probably not. Where are you going with this?" Jack seemed more curious than suspicious. Kim could understand that. What could she of him?

"How about a kiss? Just a little one?" Kim asked shyly, rubbing her forearm and biting her bottom lip. Her head was lowered but she still watched him for an answer from under long eyelashes. This was her adorable puppy face. In Jack's state, he just might give in.

Jack continued to look at her, a whole lot of confusion, maybe even surprise, on his face. "That's what you want? A kiss?" Jack chuckled.

"Yeah. Just a little kiss from you," she said again. "You won't even remember it tomorrow," she added, hoping that would tip the scale of his hesitation in her favor.

"I mean… if that's really your wish…" Jack said and scooted a little closer to her.

"It is. You're really cute," she said and inched forward. "You care about me." Another scoot. "You care about your friends." Their heads move closer together. "I'm a sucker for a man who fills out a suit like you do." They're faces were so close. "I'm really starting to like you, and that might end poorly for me."

"Yeah. It probably will," Jack confirmed as he cupped one hand around her jaw, his thumb next to her ear. "I'm not sure this is a good idea, but we'll do it anyway, okay?" Jack licked his lips, and Kim knew his mouth was just as dry as hers from the anxiety of it.

"Mhmm," Kim nodded, their noses brushing. Finally, she and Jack closed the distance. It started out with a little peck, but turned into a lingering kiss.

Kim found Jack's lips to be too damn kissable to give back right away. She pressed her luck and snuck her tongue out just a tiny bit to trace the shape of Jack's mouth. He accepted the bait and let Kim's tongue in.

Their tongues danced together and explored each other's mouths as their hands got more adventurous, feeling each other's forms over clothes.

Jack felt Kim's feminine curves and Kim felt Jack's hardened muscles hidden under his shirt. They moaned in bliss, reveling in their play and skill,enjoying soft touches and cautious hands.

"We shouldn't go any further," Kim said, breaking the kiss. "We don't want to go to far."

"I told you it was a bad idea," Jack said, wiping his mouth on his shirt sleeve.

"Was it a bad idea, though?" Kim double checked. She had thought Jack liked it as much as she had, which was s hell of a lot. He worked just as hard as she had.

"It's only a bad idea because we liked it too much," he admitted. "Anyway, happy birthday," he told her before kissing her hair. "In other news… as we both know, I have had too much to drink and I am tired. I'm going to sleep. The bedroom on the first floor is yours. Your choice on which one. It's a big house," Jack rambled. "Again, though, good night," he finally said, standing up. He leaned down one more time and captured Kim's lips briefly before letting her go. "Just making sure you got all of that present," he said and disappeared into the house.

Kim fell backwards onto the porch after Jack had gone back in. She felt herself smiling like an idiot, but didn't try to fight it. "Happy birthday to me!" she cheered this time, throwing punches up into the night sky.

XxX

A/N

If this chapter sucks, I'm sorry. I wrote it in one day on a train from Chicago to Milwaukee. I wrote over 2,000 words of it on this 10 hour bus ride from Milwaukee to the north of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This is all in one day, mind you. It's 2:30 am home time and 1:30 am Wisconsin time, so give me a break. I'm exhausted! Damn cancelled flights...


	4. A Flower Heading to Winter

"I'm heading off to town," Jack declared to the breakfast table. He had no signs of a hangover that Kim could detect. "Anyone coming?" he asked as he pulled on his black leather shoes. He had a vest and button up the sleeves rolled to his elbows, but not the jacket.

"Can I come?" Kim asked hesitantly. She really wanted to get out, but she also feared she may be on lockdown now that she was at the farm and safe.

"Yeah," Jack agreed with no argument.

"Yeah?" Kim repeated, a goofy smile on her face.

"Was I speaking French?" Jack asked Milton just for fun.

"Non, Je pensais que tu disais non," Kim did reply in French.

"What?" Jack asked.

"I thought you'd say no," Kim translated herself. "I kind of expected to be under house arrest."

"We're keeping you safe, Kim. You're not a prisoner," Milton explained.

"Are you ready or do I have to wait a half hour?" Jack said in his usual cold sarcasm that Kim took a while to get used to.

"I can slip my shoes on and be ready in a second," Kim flashed a smile and got up to pour her mug of tea in a travel thermos.

Jack filled his own thermos with black coffee and headed towards the door. Kim was out of the house and right behind him before he could even get to the car. "A little excited?"

"What would make you ask that?" Kim giggled, trying to come off as innocent and ignorant on the subject as possible.

"You really thought you were going to be stranded here, didn't you?" Jack asked as he got into the car.

Kim got in and looked around. She didn't see an auxiliary cord or anything, so she checked the Bluetooth and checked her iPod into it. The first song to come on was Wreckx-N-Effect's hit, Rump Shaker.

Jack slowly turned his head to see Kim Crawford, the twenty-one year old CEO and owner of Crawtec Industries, busting as much of a move as she could in the front seat of a Jaguar. He turned back and drove down the long driveway. He no longer knew what to expect from this creature.

XxX

It was an hour drive from Jack's farm to Bennett, the closest town. Bennett wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

"This is cute," Kim said as they rolled into town. The layout was a simple one; two intersecting roads that made their little business district, while the rest of the little town was apartments, housing, a spread out park or two, and the firehall which oddly wasn't on the business cross of streets.

"It has necessities, not much else," Jack said, but didn't shrug like Kim expected him to.

Kim had a mini panic. Had Jack remembered her little off-hand remark? If he did, what else did he remember from last night? Now she actively had to try to act natural.

"You okay over there, Princess?" Jack asked from the corner of his eye as tried to find somewhere to park. Everything on the Business Cross was within walking distance from each other.

"Can I ask you something?" Kim asked and watched Jack's face, waiting for any shift in expression or body language. She continued when there was no change, "How much do you remember from last night?" Kim saw Jack's Adam's apple go down as they got out of the car.

"I remember all of it, Kim. Let's not talk about it too much, yeah?" he asked rhetorically as he lit up one of his cigarettes from Jerry's dad. "We both agreed it was a poor idea and I'm okay to leave it at that."

"What are we here for, anyway?" Kim changed the subject and swallowed her pride the best she could. "If we have the time, I'd like to buy some new clothes so I have more than three outfits," Kim said, feeling a little foolish as she swished the bottom of the white dress she wore the first night she met Jack.

"We can do that," Jack nodded. "We can do that first."

"What do you need," she asked out of honest curiosity.

"Not too much. I need some socks. I'm looking into a new game."

"Oh yeah! I forgot you actually do real people stuff sometimes, too," Kim laughed.

"Do you wanna go back and wait in the car?" Jack challenged.

"No. No. I'll shut up," Kim said, closed her mouth and pretended to lock her lips with a key.

"There's a gym here, too, that I frequent. I was hoping to hit it while you were shopping. The Macy's is right next to the gym. A two minute sprint," Jack explained.

"If I buy workout clothes, can I join you?" Kim asked hopefully. "Being stuck in the car for so long hasn't been great for my fitness and I'm not a fan of hotel gyms. They creep me out."

"Yeah, I guess," Jack shrugged and Kim smiled. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing. Nothing," she laughed and grabbed his hand, tugging him towards Macy's. She didn't expect this tiny town to have a department store. The department store was maybe why there was so little else in the town. The mall was the town, more or less.

Jack pulled his hand from hers and jutted both of his hands into his pockets. "Oh fuck. I forgot my gym bag," Jack shook his head and looked back towards the car. He looked towards the mall, then back to the car, then back towards the mall.

"Do you want me to wait here or go back to the car with you?" Kim asked, guessing at his hesitation. She figured giving him two options might help his decision.

"Wait here," he decided, but she didn't miss his sleight of hand. She looked down into her purse as he jogged back to the Jag.

Her eyes went wide and she looked around her in panic. Were they being watched? How much trouble did Jack expect for him to drop a small handgun in her purse? She didn't know how to do anything with a gun other than point and click. She didn't think she had the gall to shoot anyone anyway. Would she have to? Could she just shoot a guy in the shoulder or maybe the thigh? She hoped to God she would never have to blow away a man right in the face!

By the time her mental dilemma was calming down, Jack was all ready by her side again, directing her on with a hand on her back. "You okay? You look like you just saw a ghost," Jack said like nothing was wrong.

"Maybe I'm freaking out a little because of the little something you just put in my purse!" Kim growled.

"Do you want a little more freedom or not?" Jack asked. "If you want to be on a leash, give it back. But if you want to be able to go to the bathroom without me right outside the door, I'm going to need you to hold on to that." Both of them were careful not to drop the certain noun.

"So now I have to carry? I'm not licenced!" Kim tried to practically argue.

"We'll get you there. Relax. But until we do, you're just going to have to be extra careful. That's just the way it is. This is your life, not a joke. I'm not trying to be cool, funny, or some kind of bad boy. I am trying to be the thing that keeps you alive, yeah?" Jack stopped in place and looked her in the eyes, ignoring the other people walking around them on the sidewalk. "Yeah?" he tried again, making it obvious to her that he expected acknowledgement.

"Yeah," she said weakly.

"There we go," he said, letting go of her eyes and walking on, opening the door of the mall for her. "Get what you need from whatever clothing store, then come find me at the gym?" Jack asked, and she could tell from his voice that he left her room to alter the plans.

"Yeah, sounds good," Kim agreed. "After a workout we'll hit the food court? My treat," she offered with a big smile.

"Okay," Jack accepted with a laugh.

"Holy shit," Kim exclaimed, looking totally shocked.

"What?" Jack asked, his eyes darting around, his hand in his gun pocket.

"You laughed," Kim said with a cheeky smile.

"I'm still human, Kim," Jack pointed out.

"Not all that often," Kim parried. "I like when you're human."

"Go do lady things," Jack waved off his charge. "I'll here," he pointed at a Gold's Gym, "staying in fighting shape."

xXx

Kim held up a white blouse with a black skirt that had her attention. They were business professional without being too elaborate or too flashy, just like Jack's outfits. She paused and looked at herself in the pantsuit she was already wearing. All of the outfits she just chose matched Jack's style. This guy really was in her head. She shook said head and took her selected items to the counter and paid up.

She got to the gym and looked around. The gym was 80% dude. Jack was in a back corner by himself, squatting God only knew how much. She stood there and watched him, the form and the dedication he put into each repetition. This wasn't a hobby or some magazine lifestyle for him. The better his physical condition, the more likely he was to keep himself alive. He was a prize fighter, and the prize for each fight was seeking the next day.

Kim went to the locker room and set her bags down. She quickly changed her clothes, getting out of her dress and into her black leggings and grey sports bra. She quickly put her hair into a ponytail and headed back into the gym where she found Jack doing pull ups

"You make it look easy," Kim said, admiring his rolling back muscles.

"It is easy when you've been training since middle school," Jack said, never breaking form or rhythm.

"All right, well, I'ma go do me," she said, pointing to no particular part of the gym. The treadmill seemed like a good place to start. Kim always worked hard in the gym, but for the first time ever, she worked like her cardio was the only thing keeping her from being thrown into someone's trunk.

Jack watched Kim running on the treadmill like someone owed her money while he did his dead hang time. Jack could tell that this wasn't a workout to make sure she kept an "Esquire" bubble butt. This was a workout that had all the determination his had. I think him giving her a gun, and her watching him end two lives really made a difference. Kim was changing. He wouldn't be calling her Princess much longer. He was watching her innocence being eroded by waves of harsh, unfair reality. He didn't like it.

xXx

"You were hitting it really hard in there," Jack told Kim as he sipped his diet Dr. pepper in the food court.

"So were you," she returned. "It was almost like your life depended on it."

"I thought I saw that look in your eyes" Jack said, his appetite for the Circus Burger plummeting as they spoke. "Are you okay?" he felt he had to ask.

"Is this Jack the bodyguard or Jack the sometimes human asking?" Kim asked with a raised eyebrow as she ate a fry.

"Yes," Jack answered simply.

"Well in that case, yes," Kim said nodding her head. "My life is changing. A lot. But I feel like when I'm with you, and if I work really hard like you, I'll be okay," Kim admitted softly.

"That's because under those conditions, you will be," Jack promised and took one of her hands. "We'll make sure you're okay. The guys, you… and me. I promise. Everything is going to be okay. I won't let this be the rest of your life."

"I believe you, Jack. And when this is all over, I want this to be your last job, okay?"

"What?" Jack asked with a scoff. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I want you to hang up your gun belt after this," Kim told him firmly, squeezing his hand.

"What am I supposed to do then? What are the guys supposed to do?" Jack couldn't believe she told him that she wanted him to retire.

"Be my security team. Work for me. No more living each day like it could be your last." Jack went white as a sheet.


End file.
